Men's Golf

One of the most accomplished golfers in Notre Dame history ... focused on leading Irish to first NCAA tournament appearance since 1966 ... has shown excellent leadership and organizational skills in his role as team captain, after serving as co-captain in ?98-?99 alongside Brad Hardin ... an extremely hard worker who is known for tireless practice regimen ... has a strong all-around game, combined with great focus and a conscientious approach to preparation ... a classic ?grinder? who can make big saves and get up-and-down with regularity ... known for his no-nonsense approach ... his 75.48 career stroke average combines with Jeff Connell?s 75.88 to make them one of the top classmate duos in Irish golf history, bested only by the 1956-58 tandem of Charles Thurn (74.43) and Joe Grace (74.56) ... suffered slump in ?98-?99 (76.52 stroke average), after 74.59 in ?97-?98 ... bounced back with an impressive 72.82 average in the fall of ?99 ... a large part of his surge was due to improved putting, sparked by a session with head coach George Thomas prior to the season-opening Air Force Invitational ... played major role in highly-successful ?97-?98 campaign, after first earning a spot as fifth starter in spring of ?97 ... exceeded expectations in that rookie season with several clutch rounds, including a 69 at the Johnny Owens Invitational ... his value as a fifth man was evidenced by the fact that all but two of his 17 rounds in ?96-?97 factored to team score ... made most of his chances in first career appearance, tying for 13th at ?96 Butler Invitational ... posted a Dean?s List semester in the fall of 1999.

IN THE IRISH RECORD BOOK: Ranks sixth in Notre Dame history for career stroke average (75.48), the second-best stroke average by an Irish player since 1970 and first among players with 60-plus rounds (88) ... his ?97-?98 season average (74.59) ranks sixth in Irish history (second-best since ?80) ... has posted team-best score in seven career tournaments ... one of six Irish players who have posted two tournament rounds in the 60s (none has posted three), with a 69 at the Kentucky Invitational (fall of ?96) and a 66 at the Air Force Invitational (fall of ?99) ... owns the third-best 36-hole tournament score (best since ?65) in Irish history (141 at the ?97-?98 BIG EAST Championship) ... owns two of the top eight 54-hole tournament scores by an Irish player, including a 212 at the ?99 Air Force Invitational (tied for second) ... ranked third among Irish players in the ?90s for rounds played (88) and rounds counted to team score (76), fifth in percentage of rounds counted (.864) ... owns six career top-10 finishes, 12 in the top 20 ... has finished in the top seven of five career tournaments (tied for second-most by any Irish golfer) ... has shot 71 or lower 13 times, with eight coming in the second rounds of tournaments (three in the first, three in the third) ... has posted 17 career rounds of par or lower, 44 rounds of 75 or lower and just 13 in the 80s.

SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS: Finished 24th in 90-player field at 1999 Rice Planters Amateur (75-73-71-73), at Snee Farm Country Club in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. ... placed 51st out of 156 at ?99 Western Amateur, with rounds of 70-74-78-73 (295) at Point O? Woods Country Club in Benton Harbor, Mich. ... finished first in qualifying tournament for ?99 Colorado Match Play Championship, with four-under 67 at Fort Collins Country Club ... his ?98 summer highlights included top-15 finish at the Southwestern Amateur (78-72-74-73), a 69 in local U.S. Open qualifying to advance to the sectionals, a top-30 finish at the Rice Planters (74-74-74-71) and a top-25 showing at the Colorado Stroke Play Championship (78-72-70-72).

AS A SENIOR (FALL OF ?99): Played leading role as Irish posted three first-place finishes and a third-place ... ranked second on team with 72.92 stroke average (behind Steve Ratay?s 71.71), well below Irish record set by All-American Joe Grace in ?55-?56 (73.13) ... factored in count-four team scoring in 10 of 11 rounds ... totaled five rounds of par or lower, nine of 75 or lower and none of 80-plus ... posted three of top 54-hole scores in his career (212, 217, 218) ... finished in top 20 at all four events, with three top-12 finishes (he had four top-12 finishes in his previous three seasons) ... averaged just 74.0 strokes in first rounds of tournaments, improving to 72.8 in final rounds (he shot 71 and 70 in second rounds of 36-hole days) ... led Irish to title at 22-team Air Force Invitational, in his home state of Colorado ... placed third in 119-player field, with four-under 212 (66-71-75) at Eisenhower Blue Course, equaling second-best 54-hole score in team history and tying record for best score in relation to par ... his six-under 66 equaled second-best round in team history ... helped Irish post team-record round of 275 (-13), besting previous record by eight strokes ... posted another top-10 finish at The Legends of Indiana Intercollegiate (76-71-71), tying for ninth in 78-player field (the Irish tied for the team title) ... tied for 23rd out of 94-player Xavier Invitational (73-71-73/217), on par-71, 6,808-yard Grizzly Tournament Course at the Golf Center at Kings Island (the Irish placed third out of 19 teams) ... helped Irish win 18-team Louisville Intercollegiate, tying for 18th in 90-player field with rounds of 79-72 (151) at challenging 6,850-yard Persimmon Ridge Golf Club ... held two-shot lead after opening with a 72 at annual Campus Championship in fall of ?99, closing with 76-75-74 (297) to finish tied for fifth, at South Bend?s Blackthorn Golf Club.

AS A JUNIOR: Endured frustrating season that saw him average 76.49 while factoring to team score in just 26 of 33 rounds (compared to 74.59, 25-of-27 in ?97-?98) ... struggled to 77.00 average in five fall tournaments before rediscovering his game at times in spring of ?99 (when he averaged 76.20 in seven events) ... posted two rounds of par or lower, 11 of 75 or lower and seven of 80-plus ... tied for 35th at Air Force Invitational (74-72-75/221) ... suffered rough start at Iowa Intercollegiate (80-76-74/230), followed by 78-74-79 (231) at The Legends of Indiana ... closed fall with 157 (75-82) at Louisville Intercollegiate and frustrating 162 at BIG EAST Championship (82-80, at TPC Avenel in Bethesda, Md.) ... opened spring with a 153 (77-76) at Golden Ocala (Fla.) Invitational before struggling at Dr. Pepper Intercollegiate (79-80-78/237) and the Kentucky Invitational (78-80-83/241) ... tied for 24th at 100-player Marshall Invitational (75-74-76/225) before posting 233 at Ohio State Intercollegiate (78-76-79) ... closed by sharing for team lead with 15th-place finish at Kent Cobra Collegiate (73-71-70/214), at par-70, 6,936-yard Windmill Lake Golf Course ... placed third at Campus Championship in fall of ?98, with rounds of 76-76-72-73 (297) at Blackthorn.

AS A SOPHOMORE: Pieced together impressive season that included medalist honors at BIG EAST Championship and team-best 74.59 average ... took his game to another level for team that was looking to replace graduated mainstays Brian Donohoe and Joel Hepler ... counted to team score in 25 of 27 rounds ... posted seven rounds of par or lower, 16 of 75 or lower and just two of 80-plus ... led Irish in two fall and two spring events ... earned share of 24th in 120-player field at season-opening Air Force Invitational, with a five-over 221 (73-75-73) ... fired 236 at Iowa Intercollegiate (79-77-80) before overcoming soggy first-day conditions and a windy second day to claim BIG EAST title at South Bend?s Blackthorn Golf Club, with a BIG EAST Championship-record score of three-under 141 (70-71) ... closed fall with 223 at The Legends of Indiana (71-76-76) and a 155 at the Louisville Intercollegiate (73-82) ... opened spring by leading team with seventh-place finish at Golden Ocala Invitational, with a four-over 220 (76-71-73) ... fired an opening 78 at the Butler Spring Invitational for his first non-counting round of ?97-?98 before helping Irish claim the team title with a final-round of even-par 71, for a 149 total at the 7,041-yard Bear Slide Golf Course ... also did not count to team score the next week in third round of Kentucky Invitational (75-72-76/223), where he helped the Irish finish second out of 20 teams ... closed with a 225 at Marshall Invitational (76-78-71) and a five-over 221 at Ohio State Intercollegiate (75-73-73), where he joined teammate Willie Kent in a share for 14th while helping Irish place sixth in challenging 16-team field ... rallied to runner-up finish at Campus Championship in fall of ?97, when he used final-round 73 to finish at 299 (one shot behind Connell).

AS A FRESHMAN: Appeared in six tournaments with a 76.65 average, fourth on squad and just behind Donohoe (76.56) and Hepler (76.64) ... posted six rounds of 75 or lower, four of 80-plus ... counted in 15 of 17 rounds ... led Irish in his first career tournament while earning share of 13th at Butler Fall Invitational (75-78-77/230) at Eagle Creek ... shot 229 (77-77-75) at Golden Ocala, second-best on team ... his 154 (72-82) at Butler Spring Invitational tied for sixth in 98-player field ... opened with round of 77 at Kentucky Invitational before carding a 69 (he finished with 80 for 226 total) ... turned in a consistent 77-75-74 at the Legends of Indiana before finishing with his poorest outing, at the Cleveland State Invitational (80-77-81) ... shot 315 in fall of 1996 Campus Championship.

PREP & PERSONAL: Lettered twice in golf at Cherry Creek High School ... named all-state, all-league and team MVP as a senior ... shot 30 on the back nine in prep tournament ... hails from same high school as former Irish baseball pitcher Brad Lidge (?96-?98), a first-round draft pick of the Houston Astros ... born Sept. 2, 1978, in Elmira, N.Y. ... son of Jim and Patricia Vernon ... full name is Todd Faber Vernon ... an accounting major in the College of Business.